From Titans (Book 4) (17 page)

The ground shook. Cronus stomped his feet in
anger. “Do not insult me. I can crush you.”

Eris backed away, raising
her hands in the air as if to apologize. “Okay, okay. Skylar is the
one who had awakened the gods from Hephaestus
’
s iron cast. She has
the power of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. She
’
s special.
There
’
s no one like her, at least that I know of.
She
’
s in love with my toy. And she
’
ll do anything to save him.
She
’
s getting me the gold water from the Land of Reverse as we
speak. She thinks I
’
m going to release Mason when she
gives me what I want, but I have other plans. They
don
’
t call me the goddess of chaos for nothing.” She gigged like
a schoolgirl, sickening me.

“
Then I shall destroy
Skylar. I can
’
t have someone like her alive.
She might want to de-throne me once I take over the human
world.”

Still in
Cronus
’
s hold, my body swung as he spoke. Tired of his crap, I sent
an electric bolt up his finger. It lit up the length of his arm. He
released me with a yelp and growled.

“
Don
’t touch him.
” Eris
stood in front of me protectively. It was the first and only time I
felt grateful to her. Cronus could have crushed me just by lifting
his feet. “We need him alive.”

He snarled. As he stomped away, our bodies
bounced from the impact of his steps. When he halted, chills ran
down my spine. What did he want now? Getting down on his knee, he
huffed out air, as if to blow out candles. Eris and I flipped,
tumbled from his cold breath.

“
Cron-ass!” I roared in
pain when the moving earth tossed me aside, grinding my shoulder
against the pebbled road.

“
His name is Cronus.” She
grunted and landed flat on her stomach while I bounced on my back
almost on top of her.

“
It
’
s Cronass now,” I
groaned.

Dust lingered around us.
The clouds above spun. I closed my eyes in defeat and listened to
Eris
’s rampage.

“
You
’
re going to get it,
Cronus. You want Zeus? You
’
re going to have to work for it.
I have plans for you. One will come out alive and the other one
will die, or maybe both of you will die and I will rule the human
world.” Her pitch rose and her laughter shrieked in
madness.

Cronus was far too gone to
hear any of Eris
’
s threats. I wished I were far
gone too.

Chapter
15

Skylar

After Eris forced us out
of her world, we decided to re-group at my house. Nick and Everett
went to Bella Amore and came back with dinner. Mom and Dad were
already at my place, taking care of the dogs as promised. The dogs
had just been groomed by a traveling groomer. I nuzzled their
scented fur and thanked my parents. I hadn
’
t known how I was going take
a dozen dogs to get their nails cut and their hair trimmed and
washed. They
’
d get dirty anyway from rolling
in our backyard.

“
Skylar, please eat
something.” Mom handed me a plate of food. Mason and I had been
cuddling on the sofa while the other dogs stared with begging eyes
for scraps.

“
I like Hades,”
Hades snorted.
“He
’
s a good dog.
” He
dropped his hand on purpose to give Hades a piece of
chicken.

“
I saw that,”
Mom squealed.
“No playing favorites just because his name is
Hades.”

Hades grumbled under his breath. “Yes,
mother.”

“
Pass me the bread,” Zeus
announced.

“
Say please, Zeus,” Mom
reminded, passing a container to him.

Zeus arched his eyebrows.
“Please.” He paused. “I
’
m not used to saying
please.”

“
Maybe you should,
especially if you plan to live among the humans,” Dad said, taking
a sip of his drink. “They won
’
t know who you are. As rude as
humans can be, they don
’
t tolerate rude
people.”

Poseidon twirled spaghetti
noodles with his fork. “Our world is so much simpler.” He took a
bite. “Never mind. Come to think of it, I
’
m wrong. The gods lie,
cheat, steal, kill, seek revenge, sleep with everyone. Shall I go
on with a list inside my head?”

“
Sounds like humans are no
different.” Dad shrugged. “Pass me the rice, please. If you listen
to the news, that
’
s what the stories are
about.”

Our dinner
conversation—whether gods or humans were more screwed—turned out to
be quite an interesting topic; however, I tuned out as I attempted
to eat my meal. I couldn
’
t help myself. Mason wagging his
tail and staring at me with those begging eyes, I gave in and gave
him some chicken. At least he enjoyed it.

“
That meal is for you,”
Mom reminded me.

“
I
’
m not hungry.” I attempted a
smile.

“
You
’
ll need your strength.
If you
’
re not going to do it for yourself, then do it for
Mason.”

I nodded, knowing Mom was
right. In two days, the hunt would begin, whatever Eris meant by
hunt. Recalling Eris
’
s last words right before I
crossed over, I went to my room to get my laptop and came back down
and set it on the cherry wood dining table between Hades and Zeus.
Mason and I bought that table together. We
’
d spent long hours at the
furniture stores, shopping for the best quality.

I punched in my password and pulled up a web
browser. “What do you know about The Minotaur and the Labyrinth of
Crete? Eris told me she would send me a message in two days when it
was time for the hunt.”

Hades opened his mouth to take a bite of his
drumstick, but instead clamped his mouth shut. “Were those her
exact words?”

“
Pretty much.”

“
She
’
s insane. How is she
going to get away with that?” Poseidon shook his head and stopped
eating too.

Nick placed his fork down. “What does that
story have to do with finding Mason?”

“
A lot.”
Mom
’
s face paled.

Silence fell around the table and everyone
stiffened.

“
Can someone tell me the
story, or do I have to look it up?” I had already started clicking
on my keypad.

Zeus placed his hand over
mine to stop me from punching in more keys. “I
’
ll tell you, but
you
’
re not going to like what I have to say.” He sighed as if he
had a ton of bricks on his shoulders.

I closed the laptop and
sat on the sofa, bracing myself for the story.
Zeus
’
s warning gave me anxiety. Mason jumped and sat next to me,
licking my hand. He was such a happy, affectionate dog.

Zeus dipped his head low
as if to prepare himself and then lifted his chin back up. “The
Minotaur was the son of Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete.
I
’
m
afraid this creature was created by my doing. Queen Pasiphae slept
with a bull that I sent and later gave birth to Minotaur—half man
and half bull. Ashamed, King Minos hid the Minotaur in the
Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus at the Minoan Palace of Knossos.
The Labyrinth was constructed so that no one could ever find the
way out alive. Minos imprisoned his enemies in the Labyrinth so the
Minotaur would eat them.”

Everett
’
s glass clinked on the
table. “That
’
s crazy.”

Zeus ran his hand down his face. “It gets
worse. The bull that impregnated Pasiphae killed her son Androgeus
when he participated in the Panathenaic Games in Athens. Because of
this, Minos demanded that Aegeus, the king of Athens, send seven
men and women every year to the Minotaur.”

“
They all die, of course,”
Hades cut in, holding a fork in his hand and pointed at Zeus. “It
all started because Zeus wanted to punish King Minos of Crete for
hurting his ego. No good deeds come from actions driven by hurt ego
or revenge.”

Nick pushed his plate
forward and leaned back. “So, what you
’
re saying is that the crazy
bitch is going to put us in the Labyrinth? We have to find Mason
before the Minotaur or the Titans kills or eat us or him?” His tone
rose in anger.

“
Pretty much.” Hades
sounded nonchalant about the situation.

“
It won
’
t be the Minotaur.
He
’
s
dead,” Zeus said. “In the third year of the tributes, Theseus, son
of Aegeus, volunteered. Theseus wanted to slay the Minotaur, and he
did.”

Amanda furrowed her brow. “So, then, how did
Theseus get out if the Labyrinth is inescapable?”

“
It gets a little strange.
It has been told that Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos,
fell madly in love with Theseus. She gave him a thread and told him
to unravel it as he traveled through the Labyrinth. He took her
advice and managed to retrace his steps out.” Zeus leaned back into
his chair.

Poseidon opened his mouth
to speak, but said nothing. He cleared his throat and tried again.
“I
’
m
not sure if that thread method worked or if it was even true.
Supposedly, King Aegeus committed suicide when his son never came
back.”

Hades raised his hand as
if to ask permission to speak, but he spoke anyway. “I heard a
different tale where the King of Athens made a bargain with King
Minos that if King Minos didn
’
t attack Athens for nine years,
he would send seven boys and seven girls every year to be eaten by
his ugly pet. Supposedly, King Minos loved the Minotaur, and he
only attacked Athens when he was bored.”

Everett clenched his jaw.
“Either way, it
’
s awful. How do you decide which
children go?”

“
Lottery,” Father said
matter-of-factly. “It
’
s the only fair way.”

“
We
don’
t have a choice.” I pointed out the
obvious. “
We
don’
t even know what the Labyrinth looks
like or what
’
s inside there.”

Nick frowned. “Even if we
did find out, knowing Eris, it wouldn
’
t be the same.”

“
It
’
s going to be
hellishly chaotic and…” Noah began, but stopped.

“
It
’
s a game to her. Eris,
the goddess of chaos.” Amanda jabbed her fork through her salad.
“This is her specialty. This is who she is. She
’
s loving this. How do
we stop her?” Amanda
’
s eyes filled with terror. “If we
win this and bring Mason home, she
’
ll be pissed.
Who
’
s to say she won
’
t do something else?
She
’
ll always bring chaos to our world. We have to stop her—not
just this time, but for good.”

Nick placed his elbow on
the table and leaned his chin on his fist. “I have to agree with
Amanda. I don
’
t mean that we will kill her.
It
’
s
not who we are. But we have to ensure our safety.”

Noah
’
s blue eyes glistened
when he looked at Amanda. He placed a hand over hers, which was
resting on the table. “I agree with Amanda too. Who knows who Eris
will attack next. If we bring…” He stopped and swallowed.
“
When
we bring
Mason home and win this stupid game of hers, she
’
s going to go after
all of us.”